स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरतः संसिद्धिं लभते नरः ।स्वकर्मनिरतः सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु ॥
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṃsiddhiṃ labhate naraḥ |svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṃ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu ||
- स्वे · sve
- in one's own
- कर्मणि · karmaṇi
- work, duty
- अभिरतः · abhirataḥ
- devoted, content
- संसिद्धिम् · saṃsiddhim
- perfection, fulfillment
- लभते · labhate
- attains
- नरः · naraḥ
- a person
- स्वकर्मनिरतः · svakarmanirataḥ
- devoted to one's own work
- सिद्धिम् · siddhim
- perfection
- यथा · yathā
- how
- विन्दति · vindati
- finds
- तत् · tat
- that
- शृणु · śṛṇu
- hear
“Devoted to one's own work, a person attains perfection; hear how one devoted to one's own duty finds perfection.”
— Original plain-language translation
The democratizing promise: any honest work, done devotedly, leads to perfection — no one must borrow another's path. Excellence in one's own station beats imitation of another's. The 'how' comes in the next verse: work as worship.
— Reader's notes (original)